Anatomy of the Perfect CEO

Excerpt

The following is from the July 19, 2012, edition of CNBC. SMU Psychology Professor George Holden provided expertise for this story.

July 19, 2012

By David Mielach

High-profile CEOs are seemingly always in the news. They're either getting hired or fired, sued for sexual harassment or being grilled by Congress. Around the country, however, unassuming bosses are going about their daily jobs running companies and managing employees. Some run giant firms from corner offices, while others roll up their shirtsleeves and work alongside their small team of employees.

What makes these CEOs tick and how did they climb the ladder to the top in the first place? We’ve pieced together a theoretical sketch of the perfect CEO from a variety of studies. . .

Parents

Another quality of the perfect CEO is something they have no control over. Research has found that a person's parents can be a large factor in the success of their children. This is because parents can initiate their children on trajectories that can play a large part in their future success, George Holden, of Southern Methodist University in Dallas who conducted the research, said.

"Some factors that also can influence trajectories include the family's culture, their income and family resources, and the quality of the parent-child relationship," Holden said. "What this model of parenting helps to point out is that effective parenting involves guiding children in such a way as to ensure that they are developing along positive trajectories."

Those trajectories can be an important part of not only the future success of a child, but of their leadership skills as well. In other words, the encouragement of parents can be a big factor in the path a child takes in a career.